Water Butts & Barrels Blog

Firstly, let's acknowledge the majestic simplicity of a water butt - an ingenious reservoir for harvesting rainwater. With each shower, every drizzle, and even during thunderstorms, Mother Nature provides us with this pure, untapped source of H2O. By collecting rainwater in a water butt, you gain an invaluable supply to nourish your garden, saving the precious water from your taps for tasks that genuinely require it. Trust me, the joy of self-sustaining your plants while cutting down your utility bill is beyond gratifying!

We'd like to emphasize the fact that during periods of extreme heat, your water butt might only provide a limited supply of water for up to three days. While this might not sound like much, understanding this limitation is crucial in managing your water usage effectively.

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Did you know that a typical household collects around 24,000 litres of rainwater in a single year? Think of the collective impact we can make as an environmentally responsible community!

During hot weather periods, water availability can be a challenge to maintain. One way to save rain and ensure adequate water availability in your garden during these heatwaves is to install a water butt. A water butt is an excellent way to store rainwater, saving it for the hotter days ahead. With a water butt, you can keep your garden green and beautiful even during the most extreme weather conditions.

A rainwater harvesting system is invaluable during drier months and when we tend to garden more but when the weather changes, we garden less and our once often used water butt can become neglected. This season is as important as any when it comes to maintaining and caring for your water butt so that you can use it all year round. For it to survive the temperatures and lowered usage just follow our handy hints and your system will still be at its best come summer time.

On our sustainable gardening journey, many of us invest in a water butt to harvest rainwater to use on plants and other things around the house (read our previous blog on how to be water smart for some tips). Whilst this system should be used all year round, the weather can sometimes stop us from making the most out of it. We may be in for rainy weather over Autumn, but this could mean you can use your harvested water for other purposes in the house. To do this, you may need to care for your water butt a bit more as the weather changes.  

Read through our handy tips to help you carry on using your water butt throughout Autumn. 

The Best Water Butts for Small Gardens

Water butts are a great way to do your bit for the environment by collecting rain water, and it’s also a great way to save money and help your plants to flourish. If you’re not particularly blessed with space in your garden, you may be wondering if installing a water butt is still an option, but let us reassure you that it is! As your one stop shop for rain harvesting equipment, we have plenty of tips and suggestions when it comes to finding the best water butts for small garden spaces.

Collecting rain water in a well chosen water butt is an easy way of watering your gardening in an environmentally friendly way. Best of all, this water is free, so you could spend less money on your water bills! 

Water butts are easy to attach to your house, shed, garage or any other garden building that has a gutter and a down pipe. If a building such as greenhouse doesn’t have any, then consider having them fitted – you could save many litres of water. It is estimated that around 24,000 litres can be saved from the average house roof every year. (BBC Gardening) 

In winter 2013-14 there were 12 major storms and winter 2015-16 was named the second wettest season for 20 years. This year (2020) we have been hit with three storms (Storm Ciara, Dennis and Ellen) in a month which ended in destruction to many of our gardens. With high winds and storms becoming more regular in the UK, it may be prudent to weatherproof our gardens. Items such as water butts and composters are not always built to withstand extreme gales. So, how do we carry on our sustainable garden activity through bad weather?

Collecting rainwater used to be just the pursuit of the hardened gardener but in recent years, more and more councils across the UK have started to install water butts on new build houses to stop flooding and to save their sewage systems from being overwhelmed. Even if harvested rainwater is thrown down a kitchen sink, it staggers the rainfall and eases flooding in the streets during a storm. The good news is, the more we harvest rainwater, the more things we find out we can do with it (read our article on how rainwater harvesting could save you money to find out what you can do with collected rainwater). Water butts, water tanks and water barrels can help to create a sustainable garden and support people wanting to live in an eco-friendly manner. Rainwater harvesting systems have become a hero to many so you may be considering installing one yourself.

Read through this definitive guide on whether you should have a water butt, water barrel or water tank:

Easily one of the most loved water butts on Water Butts Direct, is the 160L Terracottage Wall Mounted Water Butt. Its unique design and sturdy construction mean that owners of this water butt keep it working for years. The Terracottage Wall Mounted Water Butt can help you garden more sustainably and will help you save on space. If you’re considering having a wall mounted water butt but not sure what sets them apart, we here to help.  

This year’s Hampton Court Garden Festival was blessed with great weather and soaring temperatures. If you watched the coverage on BBC, you probably noticed how beautiful the weather was. Along with typically good weather, garden festivals and shows are traditionally the time to showcase beautiful gardens and trends within gardening. They have also become a time to push the boundaries slightly and have areas that are installed to create debate and shock. This year’s Hampton Court RHS show was no exception. Whilst similar fashions and materials were used in the displays that were in the Chelsea Flower Show 2019, a few different themes were explored.